Since the weather changed here, I have been on the hunt for a new foundation. I always find that my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, which is my holy grail for summer, is too matte for winter. I find that the NARS Luminous foundation is far too….’non-matte’ for me. It lasts slightly longer in winter than in the summer but it still does not last on my skin.

Interestingly enough, my skin is changing. It used to be oily all over but I have noticed that my ezcema is flaring up again so it is causing dry patches on my face. I would call my face a ‘combination’ skin type, with an oily t-zone area and dry patches.

I have had my eye on this foundation for a while, but I had questions…will a foundation stick be good for my skin? What are the shades like, especially the darker skin tones? The store that stocks them didn’t do the foundation any justice though, because she didn’t know what shade to try on me! If you are dark skinned woman, actually no if you are a black woman, you will understand my struggle! When a sales assistant picks up a colour that is completely different from your skin tone. ‘No honey, I love my ebony sisters but I am not that dark!’ Then she tried a shade too light, and I just gave her a look! ‘Just drop the foundation and step away from my face!’

I went back into the store on another day and different woman helped me and found my perfect shade immediately. She tried it on me and I fell in love. I bought it straightaway.

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What does Hourglass say about their foundation?

‘A revolutionary foundation stick with the coverage of a concealer, the fluidity of a liquid, and the weightlessness of a powder in a long-wearing waterproof formula for undetectable full coverage.

The unprecedented concentration of pigment in this foundation provides maximum coverage with minimum product, concealing all discolouration and imperfections for virtually perfect skin with a seamless finish. Satin Finish. Coverage is buildable full.’

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PRICE

So this foundation stick is not cheap! It costs £42. Wait! Before you close this page in annoyance thinking ‘Temi you are crazy! Spending all that money for just foundation’. I think it is actually worth it. It is a concentrated formula so a little goes a long way. It is very concentrated so you actually use less of the product. It goes from little to full coverage real quick. The woman told me to lightly dot the foundation on my face. I didn’t listen and I drew streaks on my face thinking this woman obviously doesn’t know that I like full coverage. When I started blending out, I realised what she was talking about! The foundation stick is really pigmented so it is best to build it up.

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TEXTURE

This foundation is nice, really nice. I got compliments about my skin looking flawless from so many people when I wore it. Inside I was thinking, ‘well what do you expect? I wake up, flawless. Post up, flawless. Ridin’ round in it, flawless. Flossin’ on that, flawless’. Haha! The formula is quite impressive. Even though it is concentrated, it does not make you look cakey and it looks natural. It is really easy to blend out. I was initially sceptical about using a stick foundation on oily skin, but it lasted all day, without me having to touch up. It doesn’t accentuate my large pores and it feels weightless on my skin. Your face still looks like your skin, only better. Your skin looks smoother than smooth.

The only thing I didn’t like was that the foundation settled into the dry patches of my face. I got round this by moisturising my face beforehand, and it worked.

HOW TO USE

This foundation stick comes with a brush. I actually thought the brush came with the foundation stick, but nope the brush is sold separately. For another £42. To be honest, you don’t need the brush to get the best results. All you need is a small dense blending brush. Blend it out in small circular motions. Basically buff it in the skin. Avoid using any sort of fluffy brush with this foundation stick. It just doesn’t work. Also, I wouldn’t recommend using a beauty blender with this foundation, it just does not work.

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PACKAGING

It is in a metallic brown triangular tube, and it is pretty easy to use.

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OVERALL THOUGHTS

This foundation is expensive but it is worth it. My skin looked flawless and the foundation stayed on all day. I used a primer underneath. It does not give me a matte finish, it gives me a satin finish, which I actually prefer during this time of year. The colour match is amazing.